Can anyone point me in the right direction of depletion of Vitamins and minerals by medication. I think there was some government guidance on giving B12 and Vitamins D3, but don't know where to look. My special needs son is low in a few vitamins and I have been supplementing, but this would be better for all concerned if his Carers could give this. They are willing, but it has to be stated on a Medical Report Sheet by a GP. If it is just within range most GPs will not prescribe. Our GP will not even write what is called a 'homely remedies' letter so that Carers are covered. Up until now I have been giving my son vitamins and minerals when I visit twice a week. My husband also goes twice a week on different days so that we can make sure he has these. Apart from the fact that we have to go separately, we are not going to be around for ever and really need to get this sorted as soon as possible.

Our GP this morning said his insurance would not cover him to give vitamins and minerals as they were not part of his job.

My son is taking Metformin, Gliclazide, Levothyroxine, Hydrocortisone, Omeprazole (since change of Levothyroxine), so at least two of these medications deplete B12.

GP did say that they only gave loading doses if levels were low, and would not entertain that these supplements were needed on an ongoing basis. Any official links would be good to have if anyone knows of any.

Clutter thanks for your reply. Drugs.com used to give good information re what vitamins and minerals were depleted by what medication, but I do not find this site so good now. I have managed to find a few replies on other sites now. It is not only B12 that is the problem. Merry Christmas to you and all the admin staff.

Hidden I filled in a report for these people and it came up as a problem with Levothyroxine. I did not find this site very useful for the vitamin and mineral depletion though. Thanks for posting. Have a Happy Christmas.

Sorry it wasn't of any help j_bee and you're definitely in rather a tricky situation with regard to your son. Would the GP agree to testing on a regular basis? Does the home manager have any thoughts regarding this situation, if they're aware that is?

Incredibly frustrating for you as you're doing your best for your son yet the NHS are not co-operating. Hope you can find a solution.

Hidden If I had known it would be so difficult to get proper health treatment for my special needs son I would not have gone down this route. It really is so unfair that they cannot be helped to have good health when they cannot take matters into their own hands. The Home Manager is quite happy to give vitamins and minerals as necessary, but her hands are tied until she has permission from the GP in the form of an Medical Report Sheet or what is called a 'homely remedies' letter. Our current GPs are less than knowledgeable about supplements being necessary when thyroid meds are given. Not to mention for diabetes and reflux as well.

NHS not co-operative at all these days, and all, I'm sure, to push us down the private route.

You have identified something very important. First, GP's have absolutely no training in nutrition and vitamins. Maybe 1 or 2 lectures at most. I am part of a company producing high quality, effective supplements. I sent out info and a GP replied. He had listened to a tape and found it interesting. He actually asked ME what an antioxidant was. He went on to use the products for himself and realised the gap in his knowledge. They are trained in medicine, not in keeping healthy.

Minimal amounts, synthetic vitamins, most mineral tablets etc are a waste of money and cannot do anything. They cannot be absorbed, they do not have all the trace elements with them for the body to be able to use them and in many cases they just get passed out of the body unused. Portacabin disposal workers find many calcium and multi vit tablets for example with the writing still readable!

I always use Sisel products and have had the benefit of really powerful well balanced nutrition from them to get over some big issues. You would need to contact me to know more. In wholefood shops there are good brands sometimes, like Lamberts, but there is always the issue of picking particular single nutrients and not getting a great effect because the body cannot use it. at a minimum a good (non synthetic) Vit D3 and lots of Vit C are recommended, and as you say Vit B's.

I would highly recommend credence.org for these, and also listening to Phillip Day talks. You can find details and info, plus high quality supplements on credence.org.